Pen Just Cries Away
by knoxqsays
Summary: Naomi Campbell is a journalist for UK's leading music magazine, BEATS. She is hired to tour with Bristol's current rising band, Skins. She is trying to be professional, but it's so hard when she's slowly falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

Naomi Campbell first heard the music of Skins while driving to work one afternoon. It had been a crazy morning, and she couldn't believe she was late. She didn't remember her alarm clock ringing, though it must have and she probably turned it off immediately. So she slept in; by the time she woke up it was half past eleven and she was going to get killed at work. It was almost two o'clock when she got on her car and found the radio stuck on a crappy station that only played the new stuff. Groaning, Naomi tried to turn the dial to switch stations.

"And now, in the studio, live with their new hit single 'The Woods' from their newly released single, We're All Broken, here is Skins!"

Naomi fumbled with the dial, cursing when it wouldn't work. Just then, the most amazing voice she had ever heard came through the speakers.

_Dark night and the chilly wind _

_The trees swaying _

_My hands shaking_

_Your eyes beg me to come close _

Naomi stopped trying to switch stations and listened, dazed by the sound. The singer's voice was rich, low and sexy. The guitar came in, mixed with a little bit of the drums and Naomi couldn't stop listening.

_Breathe in, breathe out _

_We were silent_

_You took your time _

_While we were in the woods_

_It happened_

_Don't tell me you've forgotten _

_I'll cry for you, girl _

_Be brave _

_We're out of the woods_

Naomi rushed into the office of her boss, Elizabeth Moon. Her boss was on the phone as Naomi flopped down on the chair. Elizabeth Moon turned from her chair to give her a look, eyebrows raised. She was a tall, elegant woman with short curly brown hair and a pointy nose. She gave you the impression that she was a bit bizarre, perhaps slightly high all the time, but that was Elizabeth Moon. She was the editor in chief of UK's leading music magazine, BEATS, and Naomi was her favorite writer. Naomi assured herself that she got to where she was based on her skill as a writer, and not because she went to school with Elizabeth's niece, Pandora, or that her mother was Elizabeth's best friend.

"This is important," Naomi mouthed.

"Yes, make sure the manuscript is on my desk by Tuesday, darling. I have to go. My best senior writer has that look. Bye bye, dear." Elizabeth hung up the phone and smiled at Naomi. "This better be good, Campbell."

"Oh this is," Naomi assured Elizabeth. "Have you heard of this band called Skins?"

Elizabeth smacked her lips and gave Naomi a little smirk. "Who hasn't? They're only Bristol's biggest thing. Their EP has earned more than what the X-Factor winner won."

Naomi slumped in her chair. "Oh."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I take it you've just heard of them now?"

Naomi nodded. "My god, Elizabeth!" Naomi, being a writer, usually could express herself very well. But this band, the lead singer, made her speechless. "They're bloody brilliant!"

"That's good. We've set up an interview with them tomorrow evening after their show in SilverBox." Elizabeth scrunched up her eyebrows and stared at Naomi. "You do know that new bar, darling? Got rave reviews from Jansen last week. Did you read?" Elizabeth started flipping through the BEATS magazine on her desk. Naomi took that as her cue to leave. As she stepped out the door, she turned back to Elizabeth.

"I will be doing the interview, yeah?" she confirmed with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked up from her magazines. "Would you have it any other way?"

Naomi grinned. As she left, Elizabeth called after her, "Do some research, will you? We don't want you looking like a fool in front of Skins."

"Yeah yeah," Naomi assured her. "Right on it."

Let's see if Skins is special, she said to herself.

As Naomi did research on the band, she found herself slowly falling in love with them. _What is happening to me? I've never been obsessed before. I'm not a freaking fangirl, for Pete's sake! _But, she realized, she was becoming one.

There were 5 official members of the band. Their lead singer, the one whose voice Naomi was in love with, was named Emily Fitch. Naomi stared at the picture and cursed silently. Emily Fitch was beyond gorgeous. How could she not have a tremendous girl crush on a girl like her? She had the perfect face, pixie like with a cute nose and big brown eyes. Her hair, she had gorgeous bright red hair, unnatural of course, but it still looked fabulous on her. And her body, Naomi was once again speechless. She was tiny, but her body wasn't a girl's body. It was a woman's. Naomi didn't know whether her crush was because she wanted to marry the girl or because she wanted to be like her.

The best thing about Skins was that each specific member was quite a personality. Their lead guitarist, Effy Stonem, was about the same level of hotness as Emily Fitch, though the two couldn't be any more different. Emily was light and open, and her face was kind. Effy was dark and mysterious, with long brown hair and cold blue eyes. Her presence in the band was an enigma. She didn't seem like she fit in along with the other rambunctious characters, but her talent was undeniable. She had a way of making music with her guitar that everyone loved. The drummer was called Cook. He had no first or last name. All it said in the website was that he was Cook and that he liked drums, girls, parties and having a good time. Their bassist was called Freddie McLair and one look at him, Naomi could tell he was a bassist. Tall and thin with a kind face, Naomi liked this bloke immediately. Their keyboardist and ukulele player and other instruments player was called JJ. He had a mop of curly brown hair and the most boyish smile.

There were other unofficial members of the band. Their manager was called Katie Fitch. She had a stunning resume, graduated from University of Bristol, top of her class in advertising. Naomi read Katie Fitch's description of the band.

_Skins is fresh, unique and not like the rest. Sure, our lead vocalist might be a redhead, and yes we use the ukulele, but our music is different. Each of our members makes music from the heart. We may not be expressive in real life, but trust me, babes, when you hear our music, you won't be able to do anything but feel. _

When the band was interviewed by a local newspaper asking about their genre, Katie Fitch replied. "We can't quite possibly fit in a particular genre. I would say indie rock and indie pop with alternative in there as well. And rock. Can't make Cook go anything other than hard," she laughed.

Naomi quickly bought their EP on iTunes. It was titled We're All Broken and had five tracks on it. The first one was the one she heard on the radio, The Woods. Emily Fitch sang about her and a lover connecting in the woods, but when the morning came and they headed back to the city, her lover tried to forget what happened. Emily Fitch crooning 'be brave, be brave' was quite possibly the most heart wrenching thing you could ever hear. Her voice was too low to sing high notes, but when she did and her voice cracked, it was still… perfect.

The other tracks were titled Eyes, Smoke, Shoes and Fourteen and they were all excellent in their own way. Eyes was a dark track with great energy and a good beat. Smoke was the kind of song that you have to play out loud. It was an angry song, with all the members of the band singing all together, and Naomi loved it. Shoes was a mellow song, with only the guitar and Emily Fitch's voice singing in harmony with Effy Stonem. Their blending was amazing, and the track once again spoke of heartbreak.

_I've lost my shoes and I've lost my way _

_You gave me no reason to stay _

_I thought we had something _

_But no it was a fling _

_Now I'm going home_

_Keep my shoes _

_Give me back my heart _

The only real happy song in the EP was Fourteen, a track about school and old friends. It was a fun song that cheered Naomi up after listening to the whole EP.

By evening time, Naomi was done with her research and she had played We're All Broken at least 25 times. She crashed in her bed, excited for the next day.

That night, Naomi dreamed of red hair.


	2. Chapter 2 - Emily

The first thing she saw when she woke up was Effy's eyes. Emily sat up in and groggily rubbed her eyes. She wasn't in her room, that she was sure of. Emily had more taste than plain white walls. No, this was a bedroom that she knew well. She was in Effy Stonem's apartment. "What time is it?" Emily moaned, turning to the brunette who was lying on top of the covers beside her.

Effy didn't answer. She just stared back with those icy blue eyes.

Emily reached over where Effy was lying on the bed they shared, to pick up her wristwatch. "Geez, it's almost half eleven, Ef! How long have you been awake?"

Now Effy sat up, and Emily wasn't surprised to see that she was fully clothed in a proper shirt and a good pair of jeans. "About an hour or so ago," Effy replied, her voice emotionless. She had shut her eyes. Emily thought she looked like one of those weird people in meditation, except that she was on her back. "Katie's been looking for you."

Emily was starting to get furious. "Why didn't you wake me up then, you stupid cow?" There was no time for a shower; she was really late now. The band was supposed to be photographed at SilverBox Club by 12 and it took 30 minutes to get there. "Are the lads all ready then?"

Effy didn't reply.

"Sorted." Emily scrunched up her hair in a messy pony tail before searching for a clean shirt. Effy tossed her a sleeveless gray shirt.

"Wear this," she said as she stood up. "And you looked beat. I thought you could use some more sleep," she explained as she started folding the bedding.

Emily glanced at the mirror, and then turned to her band mate. "How do I look? Presentable?"

"You look like shit," Effy smirked.

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"You look fine," Effy chuckled. "Now let's go, Ems. It's not every day we have a famous photographer waiting for us." Effy dragged Emily by her arm and out the door.

"Where in the bloody hell have you been?" Katie Fitch, clad in proper business attire and holding a manila envelope, was furious. _Emily, you are a fucking stupid cow, letting Manuel de la Cruz wait for 25 bloody minutes._ "You do not fucking let Manuel fucking de la Cruz wait for you!" Katie scolded her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Emily sincerely felt bad. She turned her head, fixing her eyes on the tall brunette standing next to her. "Effy didn't wake me up."

Katie then turned to Effy and glared at her. "You were with my sister last night, then," she stated, eyeing Effy up and down. Effy was quite possibly made up of ice, under normal circumstances; people find it incredibly hard not to squirm under that penetrating Fitch bitch glare.

Effy shrugged her shoulders. "Emily needed to sleep," she smirked at Katie. "She had an _eventful_ night."

Emily wished the floor would swallow her up. This was not the time to discuss that with Katie who happened to be their band manager and her twin sister as well. Emily glared at Effy who looked unsafe seeing as how Katie was probably only moments away from strangling her. But as Katie stepped forward to start hitting Effy, Effy laughed. "God, not what you're thinking. She dumped Nathan last night."

Nathan and Emily had been dating for about three months. Everyone in the band loved him. He was a very young lawyer, filthy rich and exquisitely handsome. Emily knew that Katie hated her for meeting him first. Nathan Burke was exactly the type of bloke that her sister would go for. Emily started dating him at first to spite her sister, but gradually she realized that she loved spending time with Nathan. She loved how Nathan made her laugh, treated her like a little baby that needed a lot of love and caring, but at the same time he treated her like an adult. Nathan was an all-around good guy, and Emily was starting to love him. He was like a better version of JJ, with short hair and proper work clothes with a briefcase and without the mild Asperger's.

"Why the fuck would you do that, Ems?" Katie's voice went an octave higher. "You stupid, stupid cow!" she exclaimed. "You better be thankful I'm here to sort out your stupid life, you stupid bitch." All of a sudden, Katie grabbed Emily in a fierce hug. Then she stopped, hands on Emily's shoulders and eyes level. "Please tell me he did not do anything stupid like break your heart or something. Because if that tosser did, I can guarantee you Ems, the next time he comes to work, he'll be on a fucking wheelchair. Cook and Freddie can…"

"No he didn't, but thanks Katie." Emily laughed. Sometimes her sister was the only one who could make her feel better.

Katie pushed her away suddenly. "We'll talk later." She started walking away, her heels clicking loudly against the floor. Then, Katie turned back. "Ems," she called over her shoulder.

Emily pulled her arm away from Effy who was once again dragging her. "Yeah?"

"I love you, okay? Remember that."

Emily's eyes went soft. "I know."

"Now go to hair and makeup. Your hair smells. Probably didn't take a shower, stupid cow."

It was only until after the ridiculous photo shoot that the whole night came back to Emily. Maybe come back was putting it mildly. It was like Emily was standing on a train station, waving farewell to the train and all of a sudden, it turned around and hit her. That was how she felt.

It was Effy who once again found her.

Emily was smoking behind SilverBox, wiping away tears with her arm and trying to control her sobs. Seeing Effy next to her with eyes that were just so… sympathetic made her sob even harder.

Effy pulled her in for a hug and plucked the cigarette from Emily's lips. "Sssh," she whispered against Emily's ear as the redhead started to cry even harder. "It's okay, babe. It's alright."

It was times like these that Emily realized how much Katie and Effy were so much alike. They were the only ones who could make her feel better, and the only ones who knew her inside and out. "I don't want to do this anymore," Emily confessed quietly.

"What," Effy pulled her away, hands on her frail shoulders. She looked at Emily's eyes, wondering if she was serious. "All of it?"

Emily nodded. "It's just that… I can't. I don't know. I can't let everybody down. Katie, Cook, Freddie, JJ. The band means so much to them, and the fans. We're just getting meaningful mail, Eff." Emily starts rambling on. "And Nathan… god, Eff. I was starting to love him."

"He's a fucking dicksplash, Ems. He was so inconsiderate, letting you choose between him and the band." Effy tried to console her.

Emily shut her eyes, trying not to remember last night. She had just told Nathan that the band was going on tour, around UK, expecting her boyfriend to be happy for her. Instead, Nathan had been worried about their relationship. Emily had never seen that side of him, throwing around outlandish scenarios of Emily shagging some randoms while on tour and him not knowing whether Emily would ever come back to him. He begged her to stay, to be with him, cancel the tour whatever, just please, don't leave him. Emily thought he was being absurd. She told him to get up off the floor, don't be a ridiculous clot, she couldn't possibly do that. Then Nathan stood up with a determined look on her face and said, "If you go on that tour, you and I won't survive."

"I guess I better end it then," Emily said flatly. And then she walked out. Went to a bar trying to get monumentally drunk, but Effy found her and took her home.

Emily had finally stopped crying. She just gave a few whimpers as Effy stroked her hair. With a kiss on her forehead, Effy said, "Let's go in and practice, yeah? Sing your heart out tonight, babe. If you want, we'll find you some random for a rebound?"

Emily shook her head, grinning, but she followed Effy inside the club.

She didn't really want to quit the band, to be honest. She just lost inspiration. She and Freddie were both inspired when writing those tracks on the EPs, what with her writing all the sad songs and him reminiscing boyish days with Cook and JJ. But nowadays, she didn't really mean singing The Woods, or Shoes. However, she was a pretty good actress and god knows her voice wasn't anything particularly extraordinary, but what she did have was unbridled emotion. Emily was just worried that when she's lost that, the band won't be anything special.

That night, Emily imagined Nathan as she closed her eyes and let the music, the words, envelope her. She and Nathan had never even been on a picnic, but it was quite easy to imagine him as she sang 'be brave, be brave' but no.

_My tears overflow remembering you_

_Stole my heart, tore it in two_

_The woods whisper softly, _

_Reminding me of your gentle kiss_

_You were all I need, _

_But my heart will now forever bleed_

The Woods builds to a crescendo before falling, and as Emily sang the last words, her tears threatened to overflow. She was really _singing _these words.

_Be brave, come back _

_You're tall and proud, but I know inside you're crumbling down_

_Don't drown in doubt, just be free_

_I'm your way out, but don't leave me_

_Be brave, be brave_

_We're out of the woods _

The cheers were louder than ever and as Emily wiped away her tears, she noticed Katie on the side next to a pretty blonde, biting her lip and giving her a smile.

Effy came closer and whispered, "You sure you can do that next song, Ems? It's our last one."

Emily nodded and looked at the fans who'd come to SilverBox. She cleared her throat. "Our last song is called Shoes. You may have heard of it. I wrote it in my heartbreak moment, and when your heart is broken it is the saddest thing in the world. All your energy leaves you and everything in your life seems to lose all meaning. You gave your heart and soul to this love, and now it's gone. How can your heart ever be whole again?" She glanced at Effy who started the song slowly.

_I wished that things were different _

_That this didn't have to be_

_I was yours but you weren't mine_

_Yet it was you who I loved most_

All the feelings rushed to Emily and she embraced them, remembering.

_I've lost my shoes and I've lost my way _

_You gave me no reason to stay _

_I thought we had something _

_But no it was a fling _

_Now I'm going home_

_Keep my shoes _

_Give me back my heart _

_I want to scream, I want to cry _

_I guess this is goodbye_

_Please don't be afraid of everything _

_You'll move on, I'll try to let go _

_How I love you, you'll never know_

_You'll forget, leave me behind_

_But darling, I'll never erase you from my mind_

When they finished singing, Effy walked over to Emily and gave her a hug, Cook, JJ and Freddie followed mere seconds after.

"We love you, Ems." Freddie whispered, crushing her. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and grinned. "I guess this means we'll be writing more songs soon, eh?"

Emily laughed despite her tears and started to look for Katie, found her still with the blonde.

"That was great!" Emily was once again, for the umpteenth time that day, enveloped in a hug. "You should get your heart broken more often." Then Katie gestured for the blonde to come close. "This is a journalist from BEATS, remember the interview? What's your name again, love?" she asked.

The blonde gazed at Emily with a look of awe. She stuck out her hand, "I'm Naomi." But the way she said it, it was more like _I love you. _

* * *

**Second chapter is up! A big thank you to the four tremendous reviewers who inspired me to write more lyrics. I never thought people would like this story this much. What are your thoughts? Favorite parts, what do you want to see next? Every odd chapter will be written from Naomi's point of view, and the even ones will be Emily's. I will try to update as soon as I can, but it's the reviews that are getting me inspired. So... reviews, anyone? **


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